1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a xe2x80x9cSOI devicexe2x80x9d) and method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A SOI substrate, unlike a bulk silicon substrate, has a stacked structure including a base layer, providing a supporting means, a buried oxide layer, and a semiconductor layer, on which devices are formed. SOI devices integrated on such a SOI substrate can be completely isolated from one another by the buried oxide layer. In addition, since the SOI devices can reduce junction capacitance, they provide for reduced power consumption and increased operational speed. As the performance of semiconductor devices continues to improve, the range of applications for SOI devices continues to expand.
Conventional SOI devices will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2A through 2E. The same reference numerals in different drawings represent the same elements.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional SOI device having a trench isolation layer and a method for manufacturing the same. Referring to FIG. 1, a substrate 30 comprised of a base layer 10, a buried oxide layer 15, and a semiconductor layer 20 is provided. A trench A is formed to define an active region on the semiconductor layer 20 and exposes the buried oxide layer 15. Next, a thermal oxide layer 32 and a nitride liner 36 are sequentially deposited along the surface of the trench A, and a dielectric layer 37 is formed to completely fill the trench A. Then, an isolation layer 41, which includes the thermal oxide layer 32, the nitride liner 36, and the dielectric layer 37, is completed. As shown in FIG. 1, since the bottom of the isolation layer 41 contacts the buried oxide layer 15, the isolation layer 41 is referred to as a deep isolation layer.
Next, a gate insulating layer 75 is deposited on the active region, and then a gate electrode 80 is formed. Next, a source/drain region 90 is formed at either side of the gate electrode 80. The source/drain region 90, like the isolation layer 41, is formed such that the bottom of the source/drain region 90 contacts the buried oxide layer 15. Accordingly, a transistor being formed in the active region can be completely isolated while being surrounded by the isolation layer 41 and the buried oxide layer 15, and thus junction capacitance can be decreased. Therefore, a SOI device including a deep isolation layer can operate at high speeds.
However, when forming the thermal oxide layer 32, oxygen atoms may infiltrate into an interfacial portion between the semiconductor layer 20 and the buried oxide layer 15, and thus an oxidation reaction may occur at the interface between the semiconductor layer 20 and the buried oxide layer 15. If so, the semiconductor layer 20 may be separated from the buried oxide layer 15 and then may be bent. If the semiconductor layer 20 is bent, a defect, such as dislocation, may occur, and thus leakage current may be caused to increase.
In the SOI device having a deep isolation layer shown in FIG. 1, unlike a device using a bulk silicon substrate, a body, i.e., the semiconductor layer 20, is electrically floated. Thus, when operating the SOI device, electric charge can accumulate under the channel region. The loaded electric charges cause a parasitic bipolar-induced breakdown or latch-up phenomenon and make the operational characteristics of the SOI device unstable. This problem is called a floating body effect.
In order to prevent the floating body effect, an SOI device has been proposed in which an isolation layer is shallowly formed such that the bottom of the isolation layer does not contact the buried oxide layer, a body contact is formed at the semiconductor layer under the isolation layer, and a predetermined voltage is applied to the body contact. The isolation layer may be called a shallow isolation layer, as compared to the deep isolation layer described above. The operational characteristics of the SOI device having the shallow isolation layer are stable; however, the SOI device having the shallow isolation layer has a problem in that junction capacitance increases because a junction portion is generated between the semiconductor layer and the source/drain region.
Recently, various studies have been conducted on a method for manufacturing an isolation layer having a dual trench structure, i.e., a trench having two different depths.
FIGS. 2A through 2E are cross-sectional views illustrating a conventional SOI device including an isolation layer having a dual trench structure and a method for manufacturing the same. Referring to FIG. 2A, a substrate 30, which includes a base layer 10, a buried oxide layer 15, and a semiconductor layer 20, is provided. A mask pattern 42, which is comprised of a pad oxide layer 35 and a nitride layer 40, is formed to expose a region on which an isolation layer for defining an active region on the semiconductor layer 20 will be formed. Next, the semiconductor layer 20 is etched using the mask pattern 42 as an etching mask, thereby forming a shallow trench B in the semiconductor layer 20. A thermal oxide layer 32 is deposited along the surface of the shallow trench B, and then a photoresist layer pattern 50 is formed on the resulting substrate 30 such that a predetermined portion of the thermal oxide layer 32 on the bottom surface of the shallow trench B is exposed.
Referring to FIG. 2B, the thermal oxide layer 32 and the semiconductor layer 20 are etched using the photoresist layer pattern 50 as an etching mask, thereby forming a deep trench C which exposes the buried oxide layer 15. At the time of etching the thermal oxide layer 32 and the semiconductor layer 20, the thermal oxide layer 32 formed at a sidewall of the shallow trench B is etched so that the sidewalls of the deep trench C are exposed. Then, a dual trench D comprised of the shallow trench B and the deep trench C and having different depths is completed. Next, the photoresist layer pattern 50 is removed by ashing.
Referring to FIG. 2C, a nitride liner 60 is formed on the resulting substrate 30 shown in FIG. 2B, and a dielectric layer 65 is formed to completely fill the dual trench D. Next, the resulting substrate 30 is planarized so that the top surface of the nitride layer 40 is exposed. In the case of planarizing the substrate 30 by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), the top surface of the dielectric layer 65 may become lower than the top surface of the nitride layer 40 due to the difference in the polishing rates between the dielectric layer 65 and the nitride layer 40.
Referring to FIG. 2D, the nitride layer 40 is removed to expose the pad oxide layer 35. At the time of removing the nitride layer 40, the nitride liner 60 is partially removed along with the nitride layer 40 so that a groove G is formed between the pad oxide layer 35 and the dielectric layer 65.
Referring to FIG. 2E, the pad oxide layer 35 is removed so that the top surface of the semiconductor layer 20 is exposed. Then, an isolation layer 70, which includes the thermal oxide layer 32, the nitride liner 60, and the dielectric layer 65 in the dual trench D, is completed. Next, a transistor is formed in the active region by a well-known method, thereby completing a SOI device.
As shown in FIG. 2E, the bottom of the isolation layer 70 has a step difference.
Since the deep trench C in the isolation layer 70 is formed to contact the buried oxide layer 15, junction capacitance can be reduced. In the isolation layer 70, the shallow trench B is formed not to contact the buried oxide layer 15, and thus the floating body effect can be prevented by forming a body contact at the semiconductor layer 20 and by applying a predetermined voltage to the body contact.
However, the groove G still exists between the semiconductor layer 20 and the dielectric layer 65, in other words, between the semiconductor layer 20 and the isolation layer 70. If a groove is formed along the edge of an isolation layer, as shown in FIG. 2E, a parasitic transistor may be formed, and thus a hump phenomenon, in that a SOI device seems to have two threshold voltages, may be caused in the current-voltage curve of the SOI device. Accordingly, it is impossible to limit the operational voltage of the SOI device. In addition, the gate insulating layer of the SOI device may deteriorate.
There is another problem with the conventional SOI device including an isolation layer having a dual trench structure. That is, as described with reference to FIG. 2C, the nitride liner 60 is formed to directly contact the sidewall of the semiconductor layer 20 exposed by the deep trench C. The nitride liner 60 and the semiconductor layer 20 have different physical properties including different thermal expansion coefficients. Thus, the nitride liner 60 that is formed to directly contact the semiconductor layer 20 inevitably applies mechanical stress on the semiconductor layer 20. Accordingly, various defects may occur at the semiconductor layer 20, and then the characteristics of the SOI device may deteriorate.
In order to prevent the nitride liner 60 from directly contacting the semiconductor layer 20, a material layer, which has physical properties somewhere between the nitride liner 60 and the semiconductor layer 20, for example, an oxide layer, may be further formed. However, even if an oxide layer is further formed, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, the semiconductor layer 20 may be separated from the buried oxide layer 15 and then may be bent because the deep trench C is formed to expose the buried oxide layer 15.
To solve the above-described problems, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a SOI device which has low junction capacitance and stable operational characteristics.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a SOI device which prevents a gate insulating layer from deteriorating by preventing a groove from being formed at the surface of a semiconductor layer between the semiconductor layer and an isolation layer.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing a SOI device in which an isolation layer is formed to prevent the semiconductor layer from being bent.
Accordingly, to achieve the first and second objects, there is provided a semiconductor device including a substrate which includes a base layer, a buried oxide layer, and a semiconductor layer, and an isolation layer which is formed in a trench that defines an active region on the semiconductor layer. Here, the trench comprises a first region having a depth less than the thickness of the semiconductor layer and a second region having a depth as much as the thickness of the semiconductor layer, and the isolation layer includes an oxide layer and a nitride liner that are sequentially formed along the surface of the trench and a dielectric layer that fills the trench.
The oxide layer may be thicker in the first region than in the second region. For example, the oxide layer is thicker in the first region than in the second region by 1-50 nm.
To achieve the third object, there is provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. A substrate, which includes a base layer, a buried oxide layer, and a semiconductor layer, is provided. A trench is formed to include a first region having a depth less than the thickness of the semiconductor layer and a second region having a depth as much as the thickness of the semiconductor layer. An isolation layer is formed by sequentially forming an oxide liner and a nitride liner along the surface of the trench and then forming a dielectric layer to fill the trench.
Here, the step of forming the trench may include forming a first trench in the semiconductor layer, forming an oxide layer along the surface of the first trench, and forming a second trench at a predetermined portion of the bottom of the first trench in which the oxide layer is formed to expose the buried oxide layer. The oxide layer is preferably formed by thermal oxidation.
The oxide liner is preferably formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). More preferably, the oxide liner is formed by low pressure (LP)-CVD. The oxide liner is preferably formed at a temperature of 650-750xc2x0 C.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a substrate including a base layer, a buried oxide layer, and a semiconductor layer is provided. A pad oxide layer and a nitride layer are sequentially formed on the semiconductor layer. The pad oxide layer and the nitride layer are patterned to expose a region on which an isolation layer for defining the active region on the semiconductor layer will be formed. The semiconductor layer is etched using the patterned pad oxide layer and nitride layer as etching masks to form a first trench in the semiconductor layer. A thermal oxide layer is formed along the surface of the first trench by heat-treating the substrate on which the first trench is formed in a gas atmosphere containing oxygen. A photoresist layer pattern is formed on the substrate on which the thermal oxide layer is formed to expose a predetermined portion of the bottom of the first trench. The thermal oxide layer and the semiconductor layer are etched using the photoresist layer pattern as an etching mask to form a second trench exposing the buried oxide layer. The photoresist layer pattern is removed. An oxide liner is formed on the substrate on which the second trench is formed by CVD. A nitride liner is formed on the substrate on which the oxide liner is formed. A dielectric layer is formed on the substrate on which the nitride liner is formed to completely fill the first and second trenches. The substrate on which the dielectric layer is planarized to expose the top surface of the patterned nitride layer. The patterned pad oxide layer and nitride layer are removed. A gate electrode is formed by forming a gate insulating layer on the active region. A source/drain region is formed at either side of the gate electrode.
Here, the first trench is formed to a height of 200-1500 xc3x85 on the buried oxide layer, and the thermal oxide layer is formed to a thickness of 1-50 nm. The oxide liner is formed at a temperature of 650-750xc2x0 C. The oxide liner is formed to a thickness of 3-30 nm. The nitride liner is formed to a thickness of 3-20 nm.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a SOI device having low junction capacitance and stable operational characteristics. It is further possible to prevent the gate insulating layer from deteriorating and to manufacture a SOI device having high reliability by preventing a groove from being generated between a semiconductor layer and an isolation layer. In addition, it is possible to manufacture a SOI device by forming the isolation layer while preventing bending of the semiconductor layer. Finally, it is possible to prevent any increase in leakage current due to the dislocation defect.